Credo & The Constructive Dialogue Institute Announce A New Partnership For Higher Education Leadership Development

Credo is pleased to announce a partnership with the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) to support higher education leaders in fostering a culture of constructive dialogue on their campuses. The robust, 18-month virtual and in-person Leadership Institute will prepare leaders to identify key interventions that catalyze enduring campus culture change as it relates to students’ free expression and sense of inclusion; to facilitate community consensus towards a vision that balances expression and inclusion; and to navigate complex relationships with key stakeholders such as donors, board members, and legislators. The Institute will welcome leadership teams from campuses across the country for cohort-based in-person and virtual learning workshops.

We at Credo are thrilled to partner with CDI for this Leadership Institute. Our longstanding focus on strategy, leadership, and culture in higher education complements CDI’s exceptional research and resources for colleges and universities. Together, we have the opportunity to support leaders in unique ways as they step into the challenges ahead.

– Emma Jones, Executive Vice President & Owner at Credo

About The Leadership Institute: What Your Team Gains

Kicking off in October 2024, the Institute will begin with a three-day in-person convening for leadership teams to come together. The workshop will combine rich theoretical and practical learning, time for team reflection and strategy work, and develop community across participating institutions and peer groups of leaders.

Teams will leave with an emerging roadmap for campus culture change and community engagement. The cohort will then engage in monthly virtual learning community sessions featuring relevant topical explorations and roadmap development and check-ins.

"We view the Leadership Institute as essential to CDI’s mission of promoting inclusive college campuses where students, faculty, and staff genuinely engage across diverse perspectives. Leveraging Credo’s proficiency in higher education leadership alongside CDI’s expertise in fostering constructive dialogue creates an optimal synergy for making this Leadership Institute highly effective for all participants."

– Caroline Mehl, Cofounder and Executive Director of CDI

Why Is The Focus On Leadership & Culture Change Important?

As political polarization continues to rise across the United States, higher education is increasingly caught in the national culture wars. Senior leaders at colleges and universities (especially presidents, chancellors, provosts, vice presidents, and deans) are increasingly called upon to navigate political and ideological discord within their own campus and extended communities. With the national election ahead, 2024 represents a particularly critical juncture in which tensions will run high, and leaders will need conceptual and practical tools at their disposal to support the challenging and important work of nurturing civil discourse.

About The Constructive Dialogue Institute

Founded in 2017, CDI is a non-profit organization dedicated to equipping the next generation of Americans with the mindset and skill set to engage in dialogue across differences. At CDI, we seek to help campus leaders, administrators, staff, and faculty build learning environments that enable students to feel comfortable engaging with challenging topics so that real learning can occur. To accomplish this goal, we translate the latest behavioral science research into educational resources and teaching strategies that are evidence-based, practical, and scalable.

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About Credo

A higher education consulting firm founded in 1995, Credo partners with both campus-based and association-related senior higher education leaders across the country. Credo’s partnerships span strategic planning, student success, leadership and board development, institutional optimization, campus planning, and architecture. Keeping students always at the center, Credo’s action-oriented, results-driven partnerships engage leaders at all levels, recognizing that people are the most powerful vehicle through which to impact transformational student experiences.

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